HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER – "Smile or Go to Jail" – Annalise helps Paula Murphy (Ana Ortiz), a suburban soccer mom, get released from jail after she was arrested for a misdemeanor, but just as she’s about to walk free, she’s arrested again by the FBI in connection for felony murder. Annalise and her students are tasked with proving her innocence which will depend on the testimony from another suspect in the case. Meanwhile, the Middleton University president asks Annalise to represent Griffin O’ Reilly, the star quarterback who has also been linked to Lila’s disappearance but she’s unable to make a decision until she knows that Sam (Tom Verica) wasn’t involved in the case. In flash forwards, more clues are revealed and we discover someone else was also there besides the students during the night of the murder, on "How to Get Away with Murder," THURSDAY OCTOBER 9 (10:00-11:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network. (ABC/Mitch Haaseth)
VIOLA DAVIS

What we have learned from the first month or so of the TV season are two things: The major networks can probably forget about trying to make quality programming, and it’s good to be Shonda Rhimes.

First, let’s define “quality programming.” There are a number of shows currently on that many fans and critics would affix that label to, and I would be the first to admit that I do enjoy a number of network series.

Some of these shows are well acted. Some have attractive, likable characters. Some have cute or somewhat clever premises. There are thousands of reasons for liking a show. It often comes down to personal tastes or whether your mother read you bedtime stories or you had a dog named Sandy as a kid — not that any critics would admit to that.

I long ago realized that pop criticism often came down to discerning and then trusting the sensibility of a writer. There are indeed some very smart, very opinionated critics, but even the best and brightest of them are often just cleverly giving a thumbs up or down without offering much insight.

So rather than get into a long-winded argument about what is “quality,” let’s just go with my belief, as misguided as you might think it is: There is little of it on network TV.

Getting back to the new season, so far it’s impossible to say anything is a hit. The jury is out on most of the shows, and there are still a few to premiere. Suffice to say, none of them are wowing audiences, and some of the ratings are so low you wonder if their viewership is accidental.

CBS’ “NCIS: New Orleans” is doing well because it follows long-running and long-in-the-tooth “NCIS.” Both are crime procedurals done well enough. I like Mark Harmon and Scott Bakula. But creatively, enough is enough already.

Some people joke that CBS’ audiences are made up of people who haven’t figured out how to get Netflix yet.

The other winner of the new season is “How to Get Away with Murder,” which has the advantage of having the 10 p.m. slot on ABC’s all Shonda Rhimes Thursday night. It joins the writer-producer’s other top-rated shows of the evening, “Scandal” and “Grey’s Anatomy.” For the most part, “Murder” is an enjoyable if muddled potboiler. It may only be muddled in my head because I can’t focus long enough on it to sort out what’s going on — and don’t care to.

That sums up most of the network shows and this season. Funny thing, network shows like to make fun of people doing everything on their phones — watching cat videos, taking selfies or texting. Everything but watching network TV. If they do watch television, it’s usually a bad reality series on basic cable.

All the networks advertise how you can watch their programs on your ever-larger mobile phones. Personally, I’d prefer at least something the size of an iPad, but this goes back to my thoughts about quality. Most network TV shows I watch are perfectly fine to multitask to. I watch them while on my computer or iPad, strumming my guitar, thinking about what I should be doing tomorrow, or just zoning out.

I wouldn’t, however, want to multitask to HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire” or Showtime’s “Masters of Sex” or FX’s “The Americans,” or watch them on a phone.

Cable TV long ago stepped up its game, it and is where I go when I want to be engaged.

There are a few network exceptions, including Fox’s “Gotham,” one of the few quality new network shows that I wouldn’t want to watch on a cellphone, either. First, it has a well-developed visual design that would be lost on a small screen. Then, it is creating an intriguing mythology and populating it with complex characters. Ratings-wise it’s doing OK in its first few weeks, but that may not be enough for a broadcast network.

Another good show having a problem finding an audience is Fox’s “Gracepoint,” which is a remake of the critically acclaimed British mystery “Broadchurch.” The new version even has the same star, David Tennant, a brilliant actor playing an American version of the detective tasked with solving a boy’s murder.

“Gracepoint” already had an uphill battle going against CBS’ “Thursday Night Football” and Rhimes’ “Scandal.” Some critics didn’t help the cause, dismissing the series because they couldn’t see past the idea of remaking the taut, compelling mystery. “Broadchurch” karaoke was one of the jibes.

If “Gracepoint” was simply bad, that would be a somewhat clever remark. But it’s not by a long shot. TV critics seem to forget they were sent screeners of the original show, which was only seen by a few in this country on BBC America.

The new show may not measure up to the original — I haven’t seen enough to presume to tell — but most network viewers will have no comparison. So why not point them to “Gracepoint,” which is better than most network shows?

“Thursday Night Football,” with its drawn-out, mostly uncompetitive football games, so far is hardly must-see, especially with all the games on now. I get the NFL package on Sunday, so there is no anti-football bias here.

“Gracepoint” is also more interesting than “Scandal.” Rhimes is a genius in creating shows with attractive characters in provocative situations with the sheen of intelligence. But break her shows down, and they are essentially classy nighttime soap operas. Nothing wrong with that: The networks’ bread and butter are classy nighttime soap operas.

Look, no one is expecting Shakespeare, who was the Shonda Rhimes of his time. He had a lot of popular hits, too, but he could turn a slight story of a teen crush into one of the great romantic tales of all time, filled with eternal truths. Shows like “Scandal” and “How to Get Away with Murder” are fine every so often. They are sort of like that Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks, delicious as long as you don’t think about the calories.

But can you — or want — to exist on that? I don’t particularly. I rather spice things up with Netflix, cable or PBS.

Real “quality” is mostly elusive for the networks. Even when they turn it out, they rarely get an audience for it. This year hasn’t been any different. Even as people are watching more TV than ever, a lot of shows — new and old — are dropping in the ratings. There is more digital recording and watching video on demand to factor in, which only makes the old game of picking winners and losers trickier.

What will the networks likely learn from this? Stick to comfort food. “Wednesday Night Football” and “NCIS: Des Moines” anyone?

Rob Lowman began at the L.A. Daily News working in editing positions on the news side, including working on Page 1 the day the L.A. Riots began in 1992. In 1993, he made the move to features, and in 1995 became the Entertainment Editor for 15 years. He returned to writing full time in 2010. Throughout his career he has interviewed a wide range of celebrities in the arts. The list includes the likes of Denzel Washington and Clint Eastwood to Kristin Stewart and Emma Stone in Hollywood; classical figures like Yo Yo Ma and Gustavo Dudamel to pop stars like Norah Jones, Milly Cyrus and Madonna; and authors such as Joseph Heller, John Irving and Lee Child. Rob has covered theater, dance and the fine arts as well as reviewing film, TV and stage. He has also covered award shows and written news stories related to the entertainment business. A longtime resident of Santa Clarita, Rob is still working on his first more-than-30-year marriage, has three grown children (all with master's degrees) and five guitars.

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